Part 02 - River Gardens
w/e 10 March 2013
All this week's pictures were taken
with a Kodak DX6490
We certainly chose the right day last week for this
return visit to Belper for the second part of this Heritage Walk.
A foggy morning slowly cleared to become a lovely early spring
day and it even became warm enough for me to walk around the
River Gardens without a coat. Later in the week the weather returned
to a more wintry feel but these images are hopefully a foretaste
of better days ahead.
The walkway by the side of Strutt's Mills that we followed in
Part 01 leads to a small car park and the main access to the
River Gardens. Another walkway, seen here on the right, runs
along one side of the gardens beneath the high wall that bounds
the main A6 Matlock Road out of Belper to the north. On the left
a path runs through the middle of the gardens to the bandstand
passing a flower filled rowing boat.
|
Turning further to the left we followed a short broad path to
the riverbank.
|
The path continues by the River Derwent along a wide promenade
reminiscent of a typical seaside resort and lined with ample
seats from where the numerous species and variety of bird life
that frequents this part of the river can be observed.
|
Between the river and the bandstand is an attractive rock pool
complete with a water spouting boulder. The copper-topped bandstand
where concerts are still held, replaced an earlier wooden platform
for musicians and was built by Wheeldon Bros of Belper with the
copper roof being provided by Messrs Ewart of London. It was
commissioned by George Herbert Strutt in 1905.
|
The walk description leaflet says that boats may be taken out
from the gardens but there were none on the river at the time
of our visit and this landing stage appeared to be a favourite
spot for many of the birds.
|
At the far end of the gardens is a fenced picnic area within
which more birds have a permanent location. These "Ducks"
are a feature on Beth's Poetry Trail and sit on a boulder
to which a fixed a plaque with a few lines of verse by Frank
W Harvey. The Poetry Trail is another route through Belper and
is a memorial to Beth Fender who founded the town's two poetry
groups.
|
  The fenced area also incorporates a play area
for children which backs onto the Swiss Tea Rooms. The Swiss-cottage-style
rooms standing in the gardens since 1905 closed in the 1980s
and still appear to be standing empty but architects were invited
to design a replacement in November 2010. Presumably if funding
can be secured, the Tea Rooms will be restored and re-opened.
|
From the play area there is a choice of paths, left or right.
The left hand path leads up a flight of stone steps to the walkway
beneath the wall that we saw on entering the gardens. Just visible
through the mist on the left of the image is the multi-storeyed
East Mill. After capturing this image we turned to follow the
other path through the middle of the gardens to the bandstand.
|
  Passing the bandstand (left) along this central
path reveals some delightful views through the shrubbery of the
river and hillside beyond. At the end of the path a footbridge
(right) crosses the water channel on this side of the River Gardens
which were first created in 1905/06 on land donated by George
Herbert Strutt, a descendant of Jedediah Strutt, the pioneer
of cotton spinning in Belper.
|
In Jedediah's day, the area now occupied by the River Gardens
is where willow was grown to make baskets which were used to
carry goods at his mill. I doubt that even a man of Jedediah's
undoubted vision and enterprise could have foreseen the beautiful
gardens that have been developed since the early 1900s. The River
Gardens were officially opened on Easter Monday 1906, an event
that attracted some 6,000 people who each paid a shilling to
enter. Despite inflation and the rising cost of living, entrance
is now free.
|
